If you’re wondering what caused the Miami Dolphins to put in a claim for Shawne “Lights Out” Merriman this week, a claim that would have been successful if not for the fact Buffalo Bills General Manager Buddy Nix once helped draft Merriman for the San Diego Chargers, some clues might have been gleaned from this week’s edition of Coordinator Thursday.

I asked Dolphins defensive coordinator Mike Nolan what he’s seeing in terms of additional attention paid to Cameron Wake, his leading pass-rush weapon, and Nolan told a funny story that a Packers fullback named Korey Hall might want to take under consideration.

“When the other teams talk about him, you already know he’s getting attention,” Nolan said. “Whether it shows in the game, into where they’re blocking him or not, I have been hearing it a lot. The team will say something: ‘We know where he’s at.’

“I know Green Bay, when we went up there and watched the [Packers TV] show the night before the game, and the guy’s on there talking, ‘Well, we’re going to make sure we got two guys on him every time.’ The running back was talking: ‘Yeah, we’re going to chip him.’ ”

This was Hall, a fourth-year man out of Boise State. Later in the show, they had his wife come along to talk about some fundraiser or another, so maybe Hall felt the need to give up some good informational nuggets.

Regardless, Nolan appreciated the help.

“Come on, Bud,” Nolan thought as he sat there in his Appleton, Wis., motel room, “you might not want to be saying this stuff.”

Even with the added attention, Wake came out the next day and registered three more sacks in a 23-20 overtime win over the Packers.

“Then again, that’s just talk. That doesn’t really get it done,” Nolan said. “The players have to play the game. So they can chip and do all they want. He had three sacks in that game, with all the attention he got. You still have to execute, whether it’s us or your opponent.

“But he is getting attention, he’s doing well and deservedly so. He’s a good pass rusher. And with time I think he’ll just get better and better because he’s very talented.”

That said, Wake has managed just a half sack over his past two games, none in the past 118 minutes, since helping Yeremiah Bell wrestle Big Ben into a fumble early in the Steelers game.

Could this possibly be why the Dolphins made a play for Merriman, who hasn’t been nearly as productive the past few seasons after opening his career looking like a future Hall of Famer? Merriman would have cost Steve Ross an additional $1.8 million the rest of the year, but it would have been well worth it had it freed up Wake to make that next leap to Elvis Dumervil territory.

So I asked Nolan what is happening on the opposite side from Wake? What’s being done by Koa Misi, Ike Alama-Francis and at times even Quentin Moses to make sure the big dog gets to eat?

“What is happening? What are we trying to do?” Nolan said, smirking a bit. ”I’m definitely not going to be like that running back I listened to, so I don’t want to talk about that.”

Careful, I tell you. The man is always careful.

“We do a lot of things with Cam,” Nolan said. “He lines up left and right. He lines up at Sam, sometimes at Will. He goes all over the place. Sometimes he follows the tight end, sometimes he does not. That’s part of the game plan, and sometimes it’s part of each call.That’s our way of trying to combat what other teams might do to him. But they have to watch for him.

“What’s happening on the other side is really just the opposite of what’s happening on his side. Or I should say the same thing. If he goes left, somebody else has to go right. So it mixes it up for the other guy as well. And Koa has been doing a lot of that, although we’ve been in a lot of sub [packages] recently, so now it becomes a defensive lineman. But again, I think you could really say it’s just both sides are ever-changing.”

Yep, Merriman would have been a nice piece to add, especially with Nolan at the controls and Misi still a work in progress.

Comments (226 Comments)

son of a son of a shula says:
November 4, 2010 at 9:25 pm
The thing that bugs me about Chris suspending anyone is that M13 specifically asked in the form of a blog post to over look some of the political talk being that it was election night and results were pouring in. If he’s going to suspend people he should at least know what’s going on. Just cause some cry baby came on 7 or 8 hours after the fact and pissed and moaned. It’s a bunch of crap. Booo Chris T on that one.

Reply
Fatass Jack says:
November 4, 2010 at 9:36 pm
Well if we are going to nit-pic SOASOA, he also suspended Gigi and NJ for trying to date after he was facilitating the whole thing by passing the emails back and forth. If that isn’t the height of hypocrisy…

They Call Me… Tim says:
November 4, 2010 at 9:11 pm
NJ, I understand Chris T’s predicament. But it becomes very subjective and there are certain somebody’s who enjoy blowing up the blog. That’s just the way it is. Strange as it may be but that’s the reality
UNFORTUNATLY , it is true and strange !!

Sean G, The FG’s better be enough to win that was gonna be my prediction for this game.

Dan Carpenter fails to reach 5 FG made for three straight weeks. However his Fourth was enough to keep his team of Road Warriors undefeated away from home for the season as Miami beats Baltimore in Overtime 12-9.

If we score some TDs and Carp kicks a game winner I can see that but Man we are not going to see the redzone that much in this game. Both teams like to eat the clock that means fewer chances. FGs will not get it done IMO need at least 20 points and that means TDs. I predicted 21 to 2o Phins (7FGs LOL) but it was ajoke . We will need 2 TDs in this game and stop there run to win this game.

I think it is hilarious that people create fake names and email accounts to act like a stupid ass troll. I don’t get why regulars are suspended but trolls and trouble makers are protected. A bit foolish if you ask me – of course you aren’t, but still it sucks…

I’ve been wondering about that for a couple of months. i’ve been on a here for years and never got suspended until recently !! PS for the record i would’ve put vontae on the mid season all pro team, I had to get some football in there

on this Merriman deal, Im glad he will be on someone elses injury list at the end of the yr, We get rid of roadgraders like Grove and Smiley (who is hurt again with Jac) but try to pick up an uft injured Merriman does not make sense but WDIK.

4) A Bill Parcells note: Set your DVR for the NFL Network at 8 p.m. on Nov. 19. The Network will air a documentary, “Bill Parcells: A life in football.” The Network hasn’t released any details yet about who will appear in the show, but calls it “an unprecedented look at the life and career of legendary coach Bill Parcells – one of the most charismatic, controversial, and successful coaches in NFL history.” Earlier in the day, at 1 p.m. NFL Network will air “Sound FX: Bill Parcells: On-field sights and sounds of Bill Parcells’ illustrious NFL career.”

Our D will hold them under 21
10 points for Favre
Shut down Brady-Moss
20 points for the Pack
23 for Big Ben and Co.
and just 14 for an offense that features TO and OchoCinco
We are good-REAL GOOD
GO PHINS!!!

Uh oh look out boys, the politician a/k/a woman NJ is trying to “date” is here….roflmao!!! Wow how things get twisted but it’s okay, I’m not gonna let any morons upset me. What is up with the troll-a-rama lately on here? The blog has bene infested with one too many haters…

CArlito, it is actually a funny question but I have heard that snakes in fact can fart. Not sure why I know that I just do. I remember in college a friend had a bunch of snakes and he thought that was the funniest thing in the world – I thought it was a bit strange – them farting and him finding humor in it…

Do wolves fart? What to feed the wolf? Here’s today’s piece from Biggane:

DAVIE — Brian Hartline was the receiver who had the most to lose had the Dolphins claimed Randy Moss off waivers this week. And the receiver who has the most to gain now that Moss won’t be wearing aqua-and-orange? It might be Hartline.

Brandon Marshall has faced double-coverage from start to finish the last two games, and Davone Bess is starting to see more of it as well.

“He’s the guy who’s got to beat the one-on-one,” Marshall said Thursday of Hartline, in his second year. “Not to put any more pressure on him, but I think he invites and embraces the pressure.”

While he may have been having the quietest season of the three wideouts, Hartline has been putting up numbers – 25 receptions for 287 yards, compared to 10 for 157 after seven games last year – that are mostly well ahead of his rookie pace.

His most notable statistic, however, is in yards per catch, where his team-high 16.3-yard average has slipped to 11.5. That’s not much for a guy who gained a reputation for being able to stretch the field a year ago.

“Brian can stretch the field,” quarterback Chad Henne said, “but it’s all predicated on what they give us. A lot of teams are giving us more cover 2, doubling our wide receivers and not letting us get the ball downfield.

If you look again at Mike’s link, you can see the 22 which you’ll recognize and see that BH isn’t being used often enough.

However, he dropped the big gadget playcall by Henning last week. I’m not giving credit for the end-around because Hartline has the wideout realm easier via BM, which is the primary story.

Plus BH coughed up the ball in prior game, so you can quote stats but since I watch every game, I don’t care about stats. I care about making plays…especially to covert or to score.

The primary fudamental problem is obviously the O-Line that can’t block for the run game & threaten up the gut. However, that’s why screens, shovels, and swings were made.

The OC isn’t designing a scheme to overcome their weaknesses because he still believes it’s just the players fault if they can’t execute a run. Hello, we have a lot of mediocrity and the Ravens can beat us with a penalty or turnover with this Sparano-stache mentality.

By the way, all of those people who think the team is just gonna get better:

That’s what everybody thought when they saw the wildcat last year.

Now, we found out that, like the days of old, we have a weak O-Line again to go with our ageing RB’s. We drafted Edds instead of a TE so we can’t threaten the cover 2 this year.

I don’t know why anyone would have huge expectations for the draft after seeing Pat White & Pat Turner. Besides, we may still be in for a lockout in 2011. It would’ve been great to threaten the Ravens with Randy Moss because you could wait until the 4th quarter and just throw to Bess on the sideline against a prevent. he steps out and you make a comeback TD in 60 seconds.

Yeah, NJ. I have no idea what the heck is going on. I am not a computer guru. I have no idea what Mike (my hubby) did, but he says I can post but won’t have my avatar. I don’t have Chris T’s e-mail so I can’t beg to him. But I am still banned!
I think Chris T might have less brain cells than Golfitians! I post on and off for 3 years with no trouble. Then a 5′1″ 88 lb Golfitian cries like Chris is his momma and I’m suspended. Yet he can call me a b*tch. He should go back to his tiny country filled with midgets and yellow teeth. At least he’s legal there.

The democrats announced that they are changing their symbol to a Condom because it more accurately reflects the government’s political stance. A condom allows for inflation, halts production, destroys the next generation, protects a bunch of pricks, and give you a sense of security while you’re actually being screwed. Damn, it just doesn’t get more accurate than that!

OMAR KELLY was unsuccessful at achieving his childhood dream to become a super hero, so he figured he'd do the next best thing and become a journalist who fights against injustice, and searches for truth. After being bored to death reporting news and covering politics, he switched to sports.
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IZZY GOULD joined the Sun Sentinel in Feb. 2012 as a Senior Sports Reporter on the Miami Dolphins beat. He came to South Florida fresh off covering the University of Alabama football program, including its 2011 national championship team. More